Deer in the Headlights
by DaLiza
Summary: Booth finds Brennan in a compromising situation. Set during "The Man in the Cell". One shot.


**Author's Note: This story was inspired by the shower scene in "The Naked Gun".**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just enjoy their company.**

**Hope you enjoy. All comments are greatly appreciated!**

The world's foremost forensic anthropologist was completely naked and loving it. As Temperance Brennan stood under the hot water, massaging shampoo into her hair, she felt all the tension in her body start to slip away. She had never been good at relaxing. As a young child she had refused to take naps. In junior high and high school, she worked on her homework during lunch. While her college classmates were at parties, she was reading everything she could about anthropology. She just couldn't switch her brain off the way her friends could. A long, hot shower was the only thing that could quiet her restless mind, and tonight she really needed it.

She had been on edge since the moment she realized the burned body in the cell was not Howard Epps. "Whatever happens is your fault," he had told her. She wanted to dismiss his comment, to banish it to the furthest corners of her mind. Yet she couldn't help thinking that it really was her fault. She had convinced the judge to stay his execution, and now he was hurting the people she cared about most. Sending the heart to Angela. Poisoning Cam. Setting up explosives that could have killed Zack and Booth. And what about Caroline Epps? Could she have tried harder to convince her to accept police protection? She had thought Caroline was crazy for marrying Epps, but she had come to her senses and gotten a divorce. She had rebuilt her life, only to have it taken away in the most gruesome manner imaginable.

I can't change what he's done, she thought as she rinsed her hair, but we'll catch him before he hurts anyone else. Of course, she was well aware of who Epps would target next. He would come to her apartment and the FBI agents stationed just outside her door would apprehend him. If he got past them, she had her gun with her in the bathroom. All she had to do was reach her hand out of the shower and grab it from under the bath mat. She was as safe as she could possibly be.

The shower was working its magic; she felt entirely relaxed–too relaxed to hear the sounds of a struggle outside. She was reaching for the conditioner when the bathroom door was flung open. Booth and Epps tumbled inside, wrestling on the floor. As Epps reached for the shower curtain, pulling it back to expose Brennan, Booth grabbed his head and slammed it against the hard tiled floor, rendering him unconscious.

"Are you okay?" Brennan asked her partner.

Booth turned to face her. "I'm fine. I..." It took him a few seconds to realize that a) his partner was naked and b) he was staring at her like the proverbial deer in the headlights. My god she was beautiful! He would be lying to himself if he said he had never imagined her naked, but the image before him put all his juvenile fantasies to shame. He had never envied water before, but he suddenly found himself insanely jealous of the water dripping down her gorgeous breasts, elegant torso, and divine legs. Embarrassed he lowered his eyes to the floor. He could feel his cheeks burning. "I'm...I'm sorry."

Brennan supposed she should be embarrassed too, but he was mortified enough for the both of them. "It's okay, Booth. It's a perfectly normal male reaction to stare."

"I wasn't staring!" He protested. Of course he was, but he wasn't going to admit it.

"Your other reaction is normal as well," she said scientifically.

What was she talking about? Booth wondered. Then it hit him. Please, God, no, he prayed. He looked down to confirm his worst fear. His body had made it all too obvious that Brennan's nakedness had aroused him. How could he ever look her in the eye again? "I'll grab you a towel, okay? What are you doing taking a shower with a serial killer on the loose? Haven't you seen Psycho?"

"Is that a movie?" she asked.

"You're hopeless," he said as he handed her a towel, never lifting his eyes from the floor. He turned his gaze to the unconscious killer. "I'm...I'm going to bring Epps in. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait. I'll get dressed and come with you."

Booth didn't think he could handle her company right now. "Don't worry about it; I got it covered."

Brennan gave him an exasperated look. "You know it's useless to argue with me."

"Fine. I'll just...wait outside." He lifted Epps off the floor and carried him out the door.

As Booth lay in bed that night the image of his naked partner lingered in his mind. After returning Epps to police custody, Booth and Brennan had gone to their usual diner and talked. Neither mentioned the shower incident, and Booth knew Brennan would never make an issue out of it. She had chalked the whole thing up to his being "male"; she didn't know how much he longed for her. How much he needed to be with her. Someday, he promised himself, she'll know; I'll show her. Someday, he thought with a smile, I'll see her naked again–and it won't be an accident.


End file.
